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(CNN Spanish) - Legislators of the Movement To Socialism (MAS), of former President Evo Morales, convened this Sunday "all the bosses of the opposition" to set up a dialogue table on Monday to pacify Bolivia and call new elections, the official Bolivian Information Agency (ABI) reported.
The call proposes to meet at 10:30 local time at the headquarters of the vice presidency, said the deputy of the MAS, Betty Yañiquez, cited by ABI.
“The purpose is pacification, as stated in the tenth article of the Political Constitution of the State. Bolivia is a peaceful Plurinational State and we don't want confrontation, we want peace, ”said Yañiquez, according to the report.
For its part, the Minister of Communications of Bolivia, Roxana Lizárraga, invited the social leaders and neighbors of 14 districts of El Alto and their 20 provinces to participate in a dialogue table to listen to their demands.
The minister said they are waiting for the leaders to confirm an hour to hold the meeting.
El Alto, a city north of La Paz, is one of the sectors where demonstrations and riots have been registered after the resignation of former President Evo Morales.
After the elections of October 20, a political and social crisis broke out in the country, which included mobilizations and marches, an indefinite national strike, border closures and police riots.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) said on Twitter on Saturday that "at least 23 people have died and 715 have been injured since the beginning of the institutional and political crisis."
In addition, the IACHR raised the death toll to nine due to Friday's clashes in Cochabamba.
Regarding the victims in Cochabamba, Yuri Tapia, director of the Special Force for the Fight Against Crime (Felcc) of that city, said Saturday at a press conference with the government minister, Arturo Murillo, who have confirmed two deaths on Friday and that there are five others “that they still cannot formalize”.
Also on Saturday, the Minister of the Presidency of Bolivia, Xerxes Justiniano, told a press conference that they have requested the Public Ministry to investigate the deaths reported in Cochabamba.
Controversy by decree
The IACHR alerted Saturday by Supreme Decree 4078 of November 15, 2019, which, according to the commission, "intends to exempt the Armed Forces personnel involved in the operations from criminal responsibility" to restore order.
The @CIDH alerts for Supreme Decree No. 4078 on FF.AA. in #Bolivia, dated November 15, 2019. The Decree intends to exempt FF.AA. personnel from criminal responsibility. that participates in the operations for reestablishment and stability of the internal order. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/297pEsNTVd
- IACHR - Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (@CIDH) November 16, 2019
In this regard, Minister Xerxes Justiniano said that the Armed Forces are empowered to repel protesters, in case of acts of aggression against the uniformed. However, he stressed that they must act proportionally, so he says they don't have a "license to kill."
“The Armed Forces have the purpose of deterring. Obviously, if they suffer an aggression, they have the power to repel that aggression through proportional use. Clearly. That is why the proportionality of force is ratified in the supreme decree. That proportionality is what determines that it is not a license to kill, ”he said.
For its part, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement on Saturday that the "most recent" deaths in Bolivia "seem to derive from unnecessary or disproportionate use of force by police personnel or military".
In addition, he said he "is concerned that the situation in Bolivia may get out of control if the authorities do not handle it carefully."
UN promotes dialogue table
The Justinian minister said Sunday that the negotiator sent to Bolivia by the United Nations Organization is looking for a dialogue table with the valid MAS interlocutors. "We have told him that we completely agree."
“Yesterday we met with the United Nations negotiator… he is really looking for a dialogue table with the MAS interlocutors… we have told him that we totally agree… Again, the episcopal conference has called us, they asked us if we can meet again … I have told you that they have been fruitless meetings, but if it is necessary to meet more, we will do it ”.
Movement to Socialism
